Ex-Breathers – “Stand Still”

The Floridian three-piece Ex-Breathers put out one of the best independent hardcore records of 2014, in the form of the sort-of self-titled ExBx. Coming in at 11 minutes total, each of the songs bleeds into one another and the whole thing expand into a single aggressive impulse. When I used to play songs off that album on my old radio show, it was a total bummer, because each track is a short and punchy purging, which makes Ex-Breathers a hard act to follow on any playlist. The band announced today that they will be releasing their new album, Past Tense, on Exploding In Sound and Hex. “Stand Still” is the first single, and it totals a whopping three and a half minutes, which marks a notable departure from the band’s early incarnation. Clichés were made to be avoided, but Ex-Breathers rearrange some of the most trying and overused into witty, heavy insults: “Staring daggers at the space on your sleeve where you used to wear your heart.” Listen below via NPR.